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Heritage classified

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Origin and history

The church of Saint-Osmane de Féricy, located in Seine-et-Marne, was built at the end of the 12th century on the foundations of an earlier 11th century church. Enlarged in the 15th and 16th centuries, it preserves Renaissance stained glass windows, including three classified historical monuments (1905 and 1977). The building itself was classified in 1930. Its bell tower, initially above the narthex, was rebuilt in 1847 in the east, in front of the bedside, as a bell tower.

The church is dedicated to St. Osman of Maine, the legendary Irish princess of the 7th century, whose relics are offered in 1405 by the Abbey of Saint Denis. According to tradition, the arrival of these relics brought forth a miraculous spring in front of the church, attracting pilgrims like the queens Anne of Austria and Marie-Thérèse, who came from Fontainebleau Castle. The stained glass windows, executed between 1532 and 1540, illustrate his legend as well as biblical scenes and miracles.

The interior, composed of a 12th century nave, a transept and a flat bedside choir of the 15th to 16th centuries, houses remarkable furniture: polychrome statues (XIVth to 16th centuries), baptismal fonts (XVIIth) and a 12th century Romanesque bentier. The stained glass windows, especially those of the Crucifixion, the Legend of Saint Osmanne and the Pilgrimage of Saint James, bear witness to the Parisian art of the Renaissance. Some elements, such as a 16th century Virgin with Child, were stolen in 1980.

The exterior architecture mixes Romanesque traces (scia teeth) and Gothic (ogival bays, buttress). The 16th century western portal is surmounted by a triangular pediment framed by columns. The southern wall retains a walled Renaissance window, decorated with anangelots and a shield. These details reflect the successive transformations of the building, marked by its spiritual role and artistic influence.

The legend of Saint Osmanus, represented in a stained glass window of 1534, tells of his rejection of paganism, his exile in France, and his miracles (healing, protection of the weak). Another window evokes the miracle of the pendulum, linked to the pilgrimage of Santiago de Compostela. These stories, mixing hagiography and folklore, underline the importance of Féricy as a place of devotion since the Middle Ages.

The donors of the stained glass windows, like Étienne Clément (owner of the domain of the Hall from 1534 to 1542), are represented at the feet of their patron saints. These works, produced in a Parisian workshop, illustrate the local patronage and the link between aristocracy and the Church. The ensemble forms an exceptional heritage, both religious, historical and artistic.

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